


Duty

by Dr_Harbinger



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Slavery, Brainwashing, M/M, Stockholm Syndrome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-20
Updated: 2012-09-20
Packaged: 2017-11-14 16:03:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/517107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dr_Harbinger/pseuds/Dr_Harbinger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve Rogers doesn't remember his life before the decades he spent in that cold, dark prison cell but he does know that he was saved from it by the man whose collar he now wears and happily serves the man now to repay his kindness. He just doesn't remember that Master was the one who locked him in that prison to begin with.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Duty

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers (although I kind of wish I did) and thus the characters in this story were only borrowed temporarily for non-profit amusement purposes. No copyright infringement of any kind is intended.
> 
> NOTE: This story was un-betaed. If you see errors or something sounds wonky... that is why.

“Enter” my Master calls and immediately the heavy doors open to reveal someone I haven’t seen in a ridiculously long time. He looks familiar but I can’t place a name yet. Not that it matters. It is not my place to know my Master’s comrades and those who would call on him. I am to sit by his side and keep him company while he conducts these interviews and I do it gladly. Some say it looks humiliating to sit at his feet like I’m some kind of dog, wearing just a collar with his name on it and a pair of dark wash jeans but they don’t know how comforting it is to feel his fingers brush through my hair and how at peace just leaning against his leather encased legs makes me feel. I am safe and sound and well cared for. My Master will always take good care of me.

The stranger walks down the aisle toward us and I watch him carefully in case he chooses to attack. It looks like he is bigger than me but to defend Master I will do whatever it takes. He must sense my unease because his fingers comb through my hair a little more softly. His baritone voice is calm and it soothes me further. “What brings you to my realm, Brother? Surely this matter has been settled already.”

The stranger glances at me with something that looks like sadness in his eyes before he looks at Master again. “Your reign of Midgard is not in dispute this day, Loki, but I ask that those of my comrades in arms that still live be allowed to come with me to Asgard. You have no use for them here and all are beaten beyond hope of proper recovery.”

“And why would you make this request of me to begin with? Surely you would rather plead for the life of your beloved consort that those of the once Avengers I have deigned to leave alive.”

The word “avengers” sounds familiar but I can’t place why. It confuses me and so I lean a little more on my Master’s leg. His hand stops petting my hair and just rests on my head, a sign that he wants me to stop. I lean away just a bit, but try to keep my focus on the stranger. Was he someone who knew Master and me Before?

The stranger turns his eyes on me and watches my reactions when he talks. “You speak to me of consorts yet it appears you have taken one of my friends to be yours. His will was strong in body and mind brother. What have you done to break him so?”

I feel anger build up inside. How dare this man suggest that Master was the one who put me through that Hell, that near century of frozen prison cells and endless torture! He was the one who saved me from it! He was the one who pulled me from that rack, the one who made the pain stop and chased the cold away! I growl at the guest because I can not speak without permission. If Master’s fingers weren’t tight in my hair, holding me back I might have lunged.

“How do you know that he kneels at my feet not by choice? See for yourself. He is content, even happy to be where he is now. Your remarks have upset him quite a bit.”

“You have turned the Captain of the Americas into your personal hound?”

The hand in my hair tightens and I feel a little happy that he’s offended on my behalf. “Hound is not the proper word for him, Thor. Companion perhaps but not hound. He’s far more useful than a mere dog to me.”

This Thor guy takes a few threatening steps forward and I don’t think I just react. A step away from Loki, leaving some hair in his hand, so that I’m standing between the two of them, one hand out as if to push the guy away even though he’s bigger than me in every way. I feel something about this situation is familiar but I can’t tell what so I focus on the here and now. “I’d back off if I were you,” I threaten, knowing that if this really comes down to a fight, Master will provide me with the right armor and my shield if I need it, “I don’t care what kind of background you and Master have but if you don’t back down now, I’m gonna have to reconsider my stance on not starting an international incident on His behalf.”

Thor catches my hand with his and his expression looks pleading. “Please, Steven, you are stronger than whatever spell it is my brother has you under. Do you even hear thyself? This is not the man I fought with to protect Midgard from an invading army of Chi‘tauri. Come back to yourself. Please.”

I wrench my hand away just as my Master comes to stand behind me. “I am myself,” I snap at him, “And you would do well to back off until Master Loki has made his decision.”

Master’s chuckle is low and mischievous and I can feel his hand rest on my collar as a calming gesture. I relax a bit but not by much. This man is still a threat and I will treat him like one. “There is no need for that, Darling,” he says, using the name he gave me when he first held me close as the nightmares wouldn’t let me sleep, “I can handle my brother well enough by now although I do appreciate the gesture.” I say nothing as Master turns his attention on this man. “I see no reason to not grant your request, although I will be keeping the dear Captain with me, despite the fact he technically still lives. You may have your Tony Stark and Bruce Banner back. The Hawk and the Widow, unfortunately, have proven themselves more useful as examples of the punishment for defiance than simply alive and enslaved.”

This makes Thor clench his jaw but he says nothing and doesn’t make any kind of threatening move. Again I feel like the names sound familiar but I can’t place from where very well. They were probably from my life before the prison if anything, which means that they are far from important in my modern life. Master squeezes my neck gently and I reluctantly step where he guides me to go. Back to my seat by the throne then. If I hadn’t seen Master defend himself from enemies far more lethal looking than this guy and not break a sweat, I wouldn’t have backed down so easily.

As I sit down again I can hear the rumble of the two of them talking but from here I’m too far away to really hear what they’re talking about. The two guards that were in the room are gone, no doubt retrieving the two people this Thor guy wants to take with him. I run my fingers through my hair and lean back against Master’s throne, closing my eyes as I settle back. If I’m needed I know how he will summon me. I haven’t done much today but my training earlier has exhausted me. Master Loki likes to spar with me to keep us both on our toes or so he said. Something about needing to be ready should another war break out.

The doors to the room open and while I don’t open my eyes, I can hear the guards and two new sets of footsteps. One set has a step that sounds metallic and the other seems to be stumbling. Curious I open my eyes and stare at the two skinny, dirty men that have been brought in and made to kneel a little ways away from where Master is standing. One of them has a light glowing in his skinny chest and when he kneels he muffles something that sounds like a pained sound. He must be the one with the metal leg. The other guy isn’t as skinny but he has this look to him that seems a little more broken than his buddy. Both are scruffy and they have long hair. They must have been prisoners of war then.

“Your friends, dear brother, as you have requested. They are alive and well enough. Now take them and go. I have matters of greater importance to deal with than your petty requests. You may take your woman with you too. She is of her own mind but has been relocated for her safety.”

Thor glares at Master Loki and says something I can’t hear but there is nothing about Master’s stance that tells me that what was said is threatening. As the tall blond man turns on his heels to leave, Master waves his hand at the guards and they step back, allowing the prisoners to stand and leave with the man. They look like they want to say something but are to nervous to do so. I was like that before Master Loki showed me that I was safe and sound. Maybe they were people he has rescued more recently? It seems to make sense.

The three of them head for the door but just before Thor steps through it, he turns to look at me with sad, almost pitying eyes. “I will be back for you, Captain, when you come to be of your right mind.” I scoff at him but say nothing. I am in my right mind. He’s the one who’s lost it.

It is only once the three are gone that Master Loki turns to me and with a deep sigh takes his place on his throne again, as if he is tired. I turn and scoot forward so that I can rest my cheek on his thigh and my hands rest on his calves, warming the tense muscles I can feel there. If I was allowed to stand, I would rub at his shoulders. I know he likes it when I do that when we are in private. As it is this is the most defiance and affection I am allowed to show in presence of the guards. My little sign of affection is enough to have him gently pet my hair again. It feels good and I sigh happily. I can’t imagine a life without this now.

“You are a beautiful creature, my soldier,” Master said, “all of the strength and power of my people but with the beauty and fragility of yours.” His cool fingers brush my cheek. While it would have made me nervous when I was first pulled from that prison, it is soothing now only because I know its his touch. “I have a mind to take you back to my chambers this moment and savor you as though you are a fine wine but there is something that I must know.”

He sounds serious so I sit up and give him my undivided attention. He looks me in the eyes, the pale blue far more attractive in his pale features and soft dark hair and says with steady voice, “If I had been the one to have had you locked in your prison rather than the one to have saved you and made you suffer all those years in ice and darkness, what would you think of me?” The question is almost enough to startle me because I can’t imagine it. Master locked me away? Why?

“I would wonder why you had done it, what I did to earn that kind of punishment.”

Master’s smile is thin and pained looking but he nods at my answer. “You are wiser than many of your people, Steve, and far more forgiving than mine.” He stands and motions for me to do the same. “You deserve far more than the life of a petty slave. You were born to be greater than this. How can you be content as you are when it is clear that this life is beneath you?”

I look Master in his eye and this time dare to touch him without permission, cupping his lean face between my hands so he knows I’m serious. “I am happy, Master Loki, because I’m with you and I can make you happy. Your happiness is mine.”

He leans in and kisses me then, hard and demanding even though he forcibly removes my hands from his cool skin with his own cool hands. It hurts, just as he means it to, but it is worth the pain for him to understand that I meant what I said. His kiss is as possessive and domineering as ever and I don’t mind it. I am just as hungry for him as he is of me. “Come now,” he says when we separate, “I have need to take you to bed and show you just how happy you can make me, even for a short time.”

He lets me go and walks toward the back door of the room and I don’t think hard as I follow him. I may not remember my life before the prison but I do know the life I have now and the duty I have here. I am a soldier after all, His solder, and what kind of soldier would I be if I didn’t do my duty?


End file.
